The Boy in the Black Suit

1. What happens to change Matt’s mind about working at the Cluck Bucket?

A) He does not like the way Renee and Clara treat him.

B) He realizes there is no money in it.

C) He finds out they are not hiring at the moment.

D) He sees a kitchen worker cleaning up a mess.

2. To what circumstance does Matt partially attribute his close friendship to Chris?

A) They live on the same street in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

B) They witnessed a shooting when they were young.

C) They are in the same classes at school all day.

D) They have the same amount of experience with girls.

3. Of these, which one is a problem that becomes evident for Matt around the time he returns to school?

A) His father starts drinking uncontrollably again.

B) He does not have any friends who treat him “normal”.

C) His bank job in the afternoons is tense and stressful.

D) He consistently owes money to Jimmy at the Bodega.

4. What role must Matt step into on his second day working for Mr. Ray because Cork did not show up?

A) flower arranger

B) cook

C) driver

D) pallbearer

5. Why did Mr. Ray create his “pain room”?

A) He went through two rounds of treatment for cancer.

B) He needed an escape from his job in the funeral home.

C) He lost both his potential career and his young wife.

D) His parents died and his brother became an alcoholic.

6. Which pair of factors best explains Mr. Ray’s theory that life is like a card game?

A) fate and chance

B) strategy and skills

C) preparation and planning

D) reaction time and bluffing

7. As Matt’s experience with working funerals increases, what part of the job helps him in his own grief?

A) counting the friends and family who attend

B) watching the person closest to the deceased

C) talking to Mr. Ray afterwards about the family

D) reading about the dead person’s accomplishments

8. At the funeral of Gwendolyn Brown, what does Matt do differently compared to previous funerals?

A) carries the casket

B) arranges the flowers

C) attends the repast

D) greets the guests

9. The day before Thanksgiving, Matt demonstrates anger with what action?

A) He destroys old, dried flowers.

B) He leaves work and takes the train.

C) He cannot talk to his mother at her grave.

D) He will not help the old man he sees.

10. What does Matt do when Mr. Ray insists that Matt not show up empty-handed on Thanksgiving?

A) orders bodega sandwiches

B) brings leftover chicken

C) serves food at the shelter

D) bakes cookies from scratch

11. Candy Man characterizes Love in what way?

A) tough

B) feminine

C) insecure

D) lonely

12. On Thanksgiving night, Matt hesitantly shares with Mr. Ray that ________(character name) was at the shelter that day.

13. How does Matt recognize the scene of Love’s mother’s murder as Chris’s building?

A) a verbal description

B) a photograph

C) a newspaper clipping

D) a news interview

14. Love tells Matt that her grandmother taught her to hold onto beautiful, transient things by _______________ (short phrase).

15. Why does Matt miss the “explosion” of grief from Andre Watson’s mother?

A) He is meeting with Love.

B) He sleeps in and arrives late.

C) He stays in Mr. Ray’s car.

D) He is setting up the repast.